


Feast

by raptormoon



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Blood, Death, Gen, Gore, Happy Halloween!, Tamatoa is vicious, Violence, but what else would you expect from a vengeful monster crab?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 14:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16477268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptormoon/pseuds/raptormoon
Summary: Things go wrong in Tamatoa's lair.Very,verywrong.





	Feast

He felt it the instant Maui's strength gave out. The moment his worst enemy succumbed to him. Victorious and delighted, Tamatoa bit once, carefully severing an arm within his mouth: payback, first. There were screams vibrating against his tongue, a fine accompaniment to the wash of hot blood. Slowly, languorously, he swallowed, the squirming fight a riotous sensation in his throat, small hand scraping and legs kicking uselessly all the way down, until all he could feel was _full_.

He remembered the girl, then. His eyes opened and he turned to look at her, taking in her expression of horror and intrigued by the glowing green thing held aloft in her outstretched hand.

Tamatoa grinned. “What's this? Dinner _and_ an offering?”

She blinked dumbly at him, then quickly shoved her arm behind her back, backing away and glancing around. But he'd already seen - so a mortal girl had somehow found the Heart of Te Fiti? A single step brought him closer.

“Just what were you to dear, departed Maui, then?” Tamatoa asked, curiosity bubbling up. “To have the one treasure he coveted…?” He idly reached forward to grab her, just to see what she would do, and let her sidestep in a hasty, graceless dodge.

He watched as her mouth worked for a moment, before her eyes hardened. “A nuisance, mostly,” she replied at last.

Tamatoa laughed, low and in the back of his throat, shifting his other claw closer and making the girl dodge away. “And yet you thought to barter the power of creation for his life? Even if you were nothing to him, he was something to you _.”_

She swallowed, and Tamatoa relished the scent of her fear permeating the air. Slowly, she brought her hand out from behind her back, fingers clenched tight around the bauble but the bright green glow leaking through. Tamatoa gazed at it for a long moment, a giddy delight welling up within him, but he waited patiently to see what the little human would say.

Finally, she sighed. Catching Tamatoa by surprise, she opened her hand and tossed the gem out. “It’s a fake,” she confessed, watching as it bounced once on the packed sand. “Maui was using me as bait to get his- _your_ hook back, and this was a backup plan. But it’s fake and weak, just like him.” The last sentence she spat out, her voice thick with anger. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and still shook with fear, but Tamatoa could relate to that anger well enough.

“Did he make you promises?” he asked, voice low and soft. “Did he tell you everything was fine, then rip you apart, piece by piece?” He inched closer now, but the girl was still watching him, and moved back. “Did he ask for your help, then lay all the blame at your feet?” Tamatoa sneered. “Because that’s all he’s ever done, you know. Casts his friends away, all for the _greater good_.”

She hesitated, then finally glanced up to meet his gaze. “He used to do that. But not anymore. He’s _gone_ now; you got your revenge.”

Tamatoa hadn’t forgotten, but the reminder sent a fresh thrill through him. His eyes narrowed and he grinned widely, letting his teeth glow out in the darkened lair, and leaned further down to her level. “I finally have, haven’t I? And now, I think, time for dessert.” His voice growled out, and he licked his lips.

She didn’t even bat an eye. “I have a better idea.”

Surprised, Tamatoa stopped and blinked. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“Let me go. I’ll go back to the surface and tell everyone that Maui is dead, and that you killed him.”

That was probably the last thing Tamatoa had expected to hear. Platitudes, maybe, or pleas. Begging for her life was expected. But no, the girl was calm, poised, and offering to sing his praises!

Tamatoa laughed. His breath blew the girl’s hair out behind her, but she stood her ground.

“You really _are_ a funny little thing,” he crooned, as the laughter tapered off. “But I’m not convinced yet.”

Disconcertingly, she grinned at him. _“‘Yet?’_ So what’s it going to take to convince you?”

He blinked, caught off-guard again. He’d had prey barter for their lives before, but never like this. He cocked his head and canted his eyes upwards for a brief moment, actually considering. When the answer came to him, he smirked.

“You offered tribute, earlier, even if the heart was false,” he began. The confidence on her face slipped a notch and one hand reached up to grab at her necklace. “However, I’m still in the mood for dessert.” As fast as lightning, he swept his claw forward and snatched the girl up, giving no warning with which she could dodge. She yelped, and he felt her trembling, and the urge to just _eat_ her was very great.

Tamatoa continued. “I suggest, then, that we reach a compromise.” Give her what she wants, let her carry this tale to the surface. Let her tell all the humans how Maui had failed them, _again._ Let Maui’s final indignity be the last story they ever told about him. It meant nothing to Tamatoa to let a skinny little thing like this walk away, but the _last_ thing Maui would have wanted was for the humans to think even less of him, _again._ He would have done anything to stop Tamatoa now.

 _Too bad he’s dead,_ Tamatoa thought with sinister mirth.

“Wait, wha- oh!” the girl yelped as, with a flick of his claw, Tamatoa tossed her into a spin. He caught her again as she faced away from him, and gripped her firmly by the hips, intent on holding her steady.

“Stay still, now,” he murmured, as he brought the sharp edge of his broken leg up. “Much like a tattoo, any mistakes will be permanent.”

She muffled a shriek as the point bit into her skin of her back. “You say you’ll tell all the world about this,” Tamatoa said, then paused to lick the girl’s blood off of his leg. It was sweeter than he had imagined! “But _would_ you, really?” He carved more lines into the soft skin, then took another lick. Her clothing was getting in his way, so he sliced the lacings open to reveal more flesh, fresh and ready for his artistry. “And even if you did, who would believe a little thing like _you_ survived the wilds of Lalotai?” A few more strokes, before he cleaned the sharpened tip again, savoring the effervescent flavor. He _really_ wanted to eat her, now, but that would forfeit this last insult against Maui. So he continued, instead.

The last few cuts finished off the final details of his work of art. The girl was sobbing from the pain, shaking in his claw, but not actively struggling. He eyed his masterpiece, then carried the girl out of the cave and to the nearby geyser field. In the daylight of Lalotai, his glow faded, but the intricate design now etched permanently into her back stood in stark, bloody relief against her skin. Satisfied, Tamatoa ran his tongue in a long lave against her back, licking up the spilling blood. So delicious, it set him to humming.

“There we are,” he concluded. “All finished. Run along now, little human.” He heard the warning rumbles, and dropped her into the geyser right as it erupted. He watched her soar up and into the ocean, then turned away, smugly satisfied.

“And thanks for the feast.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been sitting in my docs for _months_ ; today is a good day to post!
> 
> Thank you for reading!!!
> 
> (ETA: whoops, fixed the anon commenting!)


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